Red dot on your Pistol
- Thread starter HHQ
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jetinteriorguy
New member
One of those things I didn't think I'd like until I tried it. I still wouldn't want one on a concealed carry gun because they add more bulk and weight than I want. But for home defense or open carry situations I like SOME of them.
I tried several that I didn't like. I tried the Holsun and it works for me. They make 2 versions in both red and green. I found green was better for me.
They make one with just the dot. I bought that version initially because it was a little cheaper, but they also make another version with multiple reticles. After trying that one I much prefer it.
You have the option of just a dot, a dot inside a circle, or just the circle. I found the dot inside the circle faster to get on target. If you don't align the gun perfectly the dot may be off the screen. And I had no idea which direction I needed to move the pistol to correct. At times it took a few seconds to find the dot and get it on target.
With the dot inside the circle at least part of the circle is always in view. If I have to move the pistol slightly to get the dot centered I instantly know which way I need to adjust. I found that much faster.
I put the sight with just the dot on a range use only pistol.
The Holsun sight batteries are supposed to be good for 30,000-50,000 hours and automatically shut off after a few minutes if the pistol is not moved. They come on when moved. 30,000 hours is 3 1/2 years of constant use. I plan to replace the batteries once every year or 2 just to be safe. They should last a lot longer than that.
I tried several that I didn't like. I tried the Holsun and it works for me. They make 2 versions in both red and green. I found green was better for me.
They make one with just the dot. I bought that version initially because it was a little cheaper, but they also make another version with multiple reticles. After trying that one I much prefer it.
You have the option of just a dot, a dot inside a circle, or just the circle. I found the dot inside the circle faster to get on target. If you don't align the gun perfectly the dot may be off the screen. And I had no idea which direction I needed to move the pistol to correct. At times it took a few seconds to find the dot and get it on target.
With the dot inside the circle at least part of the circle is always in view. If I have to move the pistol slightly to get the dot centered I instantly know which way I need to adjust. I found that much faster.
I put the sight with just the dot on a range use only pistol.
The Holsun sight batteries are supposed to be good for 30,000-50,000 hours and automatically shut off after a few minutes if the pistol is not moved. They come on when moved. 30,000 hours is 3 1/2 years of constant use. I plan to replace the batteries once every year or 2 just to be safe. They should last a lot longer than that.
Allegedly red dots are faster with practice, but it seems like it would take ALOT of practice, at least for me.
I have tested in the dark around my house and I think night sights are much faster getting on target (not using light).
If as mentioned above you can get a combo where the red dot cowitnesses with the irons and you can clearly see the irons, the dot appears automatically as you line up your iron sights . This might defeat the purpose of the red dot, which you are supposed to use instead of irons, but it does work.
One thing definitely true is that the red dot is much more precise at distance. Standard irons , the front sight is usually too wide to hit a small target at 20 yards.
Red dots are clearly better for rifles, but to me the jury is still out as to whether they are better for defense handguns. Mine are generally mounted on my range pistols, where they add to the fun because more accurate at distance.
I have tested in the dark around my house and I think night sights are much faster getting on target (not using light).
If as mentioned above you can get a combo where the red dot cowitnesses with the irons and you can clearly see the irons, the dot appears automatically as you line up your iron sights . This might defeat the purpose of the red dot, which you are supposed to use instead of irons, but it does work.
One thing definitely true is that the red dot is much more precise at distance. Standard irons , the front sight is usually too wide to hit a small target at 20 yards.
Red dots are clearly better for rifles, but to me the jury is still out as to whether they are better for defense handguns. Mine are generally mounted on my range pistols, where they add to the fun because more accurate at distance.
zincwarrior
New member
They are becoming standard in law enforcement
Red dots are a level faster in acquiring accurate shots. The "carry optic" concept has taken the competitive shooter arena by storm, and are especially used by older shooters.
They do however require practice. The easiest way to get on the ball with them is to dry fire practice acquiring a target through your window into higher light outside 100 times a day for five days.
Night is always difficult, but you can get cowitness night sights as an easy backup, if its a problem.
Red dots are a level faster in acquiring accurate shots. The "carry optic" concept has taken the competitive shooter arena by storm, and are especially used by older shooters.
They do however require practice. The easiest way to get on the ball with them is to dry fire practice acquiring a target through your window into higher light outside 100 times a day for five days.
Night is always difficult, but you can get cowitness night sights as an easy backup, if its a problem.
I'm just switching to red dots on my carry guns (belatedly) because my aging eyes simply can't resolve irons very well anymore.
There's certainly a bit of a curve learning to 'pick up the dot', but I've found that the years of indexing a gun to the irons really simplifies it; if you reflexively get a sight picture when you point a pistol, you'll simply find the dot on target, much as you would have the sights.
The dot certainly does turn back the clock in terms of accuracy; I'm shooting like I did 20 years ago again.
Larry
There's certainly a bit of a curve learning to 'pick up the dot', but I've found that the years of indexing a gun to the irons really simplifies it; if you reflexively get a sight picture when you point a pistol, you'll simply find the dot on target, much as you would have the sights.
The dot certainly does turn back the clock in terms of accuracy; I'm shooting like I did 20 years ago again.
Larry
bamaranger
New member
dot Glock
I have now known for near a decade that without glasses, running handgun sights well for me is now problematic. I can still see a big white fuzzy front sight, and I can paste that on a torso sized target and hit it, but the days of me rolling a coke can at 25 yds w/o my (reading) glasses are over. I just cannot get the front sight into focus w/o spectacles. As we all know, front sight focus is one of the keys to good shooting with irons.
Dots on handguns are the way of the future, in the same manner that magnifying optics became standard on sporting rifles. The long range competition crowd of the day began to experiment with 'scopes, hunters began to adopt them, and now it it a rarity to see a sporter w/o a 'scope.
Handgun dots are sort of following the same path. We first saw the competitive steel plate and pin crowd using them, now LE and defensive shooters are joining the parade. The advances in technology have lent themselves to the pistol dot being compact and reliable
Bamaboy, at 28 yrs (Jeez!) now and a good shot with young man eyes, has gone to a dot and claims he a bit faster and more accurate at distance. He advised me that finding the dot in his sight picture for him was a bit of a challenge at first, but now not an issue. Practice and repetition like in most things, is the key. He is able to shoot a lot w/ his agency. I have not heard any remarks from him that the other dots on duty with his 100 officer department have presented any reliablity problems.
This fall, after bumbling about with glasses on a lanyard and missing my first opportunity, managed to kill a whitetail with an iron sighted handgun. I came away from that experience realizing that I needed another option for shooting well past 10 yds or so.
I have now known for near a decade that without glasses, running handgun sights well for me is now problematic. I can still see a big white fuzzy front sight, and I can paste that on a torso sized target and hit it, but the days of me rolling a coke can at 25 yds w/o my (reading) glasses are over. I just cannot get the front sight into focus w/o spectacles. As we all know, front sight focus is one of the keys to good shooting with irons.
Dots on handguns are the way of the future, in the same manner that magnifying optics became standard on sporting rifles. The long range competition crowd of the day began to experiment with 'scopes, hunters began to adopt them, and now it it a rarity to see a sporter w/o a 'scope.
Handgun dots are sort of following the same path. We first saw the competitive steel plate and pin crowd using them, now LE and defensive shooters are joining the parade. The advances in technology have lent themselves to the pistol dot being compact and reliable
Bamaboy, at 28 yrs (Jeez!) now and a good shot with young man eyes, has gone to a dot and claims he a bit faster and more accurate at distance. He advised me that finding the dot in his sight picture for him was a bit of a challenge at first, but now not an issue. Practice and repetition like in most things, is the key. He is able to shoot a lot w/ his agency. I have not heard any remarks from him that the other dots on duty with his 100 officer department have presented any reliablity problems.
This fall, after bumbling about with glasses on a lanyard and missing my first opportunity, managed to kill a whitetail with an iron sighted handgun. I came away from that experience realizing that I needed another option for shooting well past 10 yds or so.
bamaranger
New member
Oops
Wrong key, to continue.....
I had been accumulating components to put a dot on a Glock 20. An EGW adapter plate went in the rear sight dovetail and a JP Microdot went onto the plate. The OEM 4.6" bbl went into storage and a Lone Wolf 6" tube replaced it. Zeroing the contraption was a challenge (all the windage and elevation. about 100 MOA, are in ONE revolution of the adjustment screws) but finally managed. Off the bench, I can now plunk five all up 200 gr loads into a group near the size of the diameter of a coke can, even with the Glocks long trigger stroke. No way I could have done that prior, not even with spectacles.
I am slow to find the dot and do not foresee shooting the 10mm hard and fast enough to become comfortable with it as a defensive piece. As presently configured it is a massive handgun, even larger than OEM and would not conceal easily. Plus too, I am still leery of a battery powered defensive sight system, that's the old guy in me. But for deliberate, aimed fire from an elevated stand at whitetails under 50 yds, the Dot Glock will be a game changer.
Wrong key, to continue.....
I had been accumulating components to put a dot on a Glock 20. An EGW adapter plate went in the rear sight dovetail and a JP Microdot went onto the plate. The OEM 4.6" bbl went into storage and a Lone Wolf 6" tube replaced it. Zeroing the contraption was a challenge (all the windage and elevation. about 100 MOA, are in ONE revolution of the adjustment screws) but finally managed. Off the bench, I can now plunk five all up 200 gr loads into a group near the size of the diameter of a coke can, even with the Glocks long trigger stroke. No way I could have done that prior, not even with spectacles.
I am slow to find the dot and do not foresee shooting the 10mm hard and fast enough to become comfortable with it as a defensive piece. As presently configured it is a massive handgun, even larger than OEM and would not conceal easily. Plus too, I am still leery of a battery powered defensive sight system, that's the old guy in me. But for deliberate, aimed fire from an elevated stand at whitetails under 50 yds, the Dot Glock will be a game changer.
Red dots, once you are comfortable with them, are much easier for a bullseye shooter that is old or with bad eyes or both. Getting used to the dot bouncing is a harsh reality as to what movement you are actually getting, where irons don't show as much..they
made me a better shooter
made me a better shooter
stephen426
New member
I carried a sub-compact pistol (Springfield Armory Hellcat). The sight radius is pretty short and the front dot is pretty fat. This makes the iron sights pretty rough and it is pretty difficult to be precise with longer distance shots. Red dots negate the short sight radius issue and make aiming much easier. You basically superimpose the dot over your target for aiming. You can focus on the target instead of the front sight.
I shot in an IDPA style open match that was LEO only a couple of years ago. A friend from a neighboring agency competed with me. Several folks out there (mostly older than me) were semi-serious competitive shooters in days gone by. The friend from a neighboring agency was a good shot, but not a serious competitor and not any better than I with iron sights. He ran a Glock with an RMR amd smoked the dog crap out of me (and everyone else, he won) that event. He had the RMR for a couple of months and had practiced with it extensively.
This made my mind up. I still don't have an RMR (bulk, holster selection, etc are still downsides), but I know better than to talk down upon them now. They DO make you faster. Accuracy at range is likely improved as well. After you train to it.
zincwarrior
New member
a 6 MOA dot is helpful for that. I find it does less bouncy bouncy.
I just put a 3 MOA dot on my .22 pistol. I again can suddenly put five rounds into a dime sized dot.
1. There are multiple pistol formats now specifically made for dots now. M&Ps and Canik versions come with multiple plates for most optic types.
2. There are smaller "carry" versions of dots for EDC that you may try. Just off the top of my head Trijicon and Venom have versions that are specifically designed for it:
expensive - high end:
https://www.trijicon.com/products/use/pistol-sights#rmrcc
wage slave appropriate:
https://vortexoptics.com/optics/red-dots.html?vx_product_family=3013
I just put a 3 MOA dot on my .22 pistol. I again can suddenly put five rounds into a dime sized dot.
1. There are multiple pistol formats now specifically made for dots now. M&Ps and Canik versions come with multiple plates for most optic types.
2. There are smaller "carry" versions of dots for EDC that you may try. Just off the top of my head Trijicon and Venom have versions that are specifically designed for it:
expensive - high end:
https://www.trijicon.com/products/use/pistol-sights#rmrcc
wage slave appropriate:
https://vortexoptics.com/optics/red-dots.html?vx_product_family=3013
RDS are probably better. It is easier for me to be accurate with them. That said, I am so front sight focused that is the rds and front sight cannot be seen simultaneously through the window, it is hard for me.
So, I agree…more accurate, yes. Faster, not yet for me. I’m on my second pistol rds. At this point, I would not modify a gun to rds. I just have to get more natural with it. My issue is my eye looking at the front sight rise into my vision, guides that to the aim point on target. If the dot is not visible, I’m kind of lost.
So, I agree…more accurate, yes. Faster, not yet for me. I’m on my second pistol rds. At this point, I would not modify a gun to rds. I just have to get more natural with it. My issue is my eye looking at the front sight rise into my vision, guides that to the aim point on target. If the dot is not visible, I’m kind of lost.
zincwarrior
New member
Look at the target, not the sight.
I made the switch to RDS this past year. I had been spending a lot of time (and ammo money) shooting carbine over the past spring and summer and I was getting very used to the red dot.
I decided to make the jump but it wasn't easy. My favorite, most used and most-carried gun was a Walther P99AS and the decocker position on that prohibits RDS. This meant I had to go back to a button release. I bought a Walther PDP and had my safe queen XDS milled by my local gunsmith to take red dots. I forced myself to use them and it did take awhile to get used to the different guns as much as the new sights. Using a Holosun with the big circle/small dot combo helped ease the transition I think. There were benefits as well.
1. Having a new pistol forced me to spend a lot of time dry firing to wear in the trigger and to get used to the new grip.
2. I noticed that my trigger press improved as when I was slow dry firing I could see the red dot wander when I was side pressing.
3. I think I shoot faster in my pistol classes b/c now my eyes are only looking for 1 item to to line up and it's easy to "see through" the dot to the target. Easer than even just looking for the post on my front.
The upshot is that last week I pulled out my January 23 pistol targets and compared those to my December 2023 pistol targets and without a doubt I am shooting better at all ranges.
YMMV but I think if you give it time, you will be a better shooter with a red dot.
EDIT: Also consider looking at a green dot sight. I have a green dot on my PDP and it's a different experience. I shoot both red and green dots well, but some folks have eyes that pick up that green color dot faster than a red-colored red dot.
I decided to make the jump but it wasn't easy. My favorite, most used and most-carried gun was a Walther P99AS and the decocker position on that prohibits RDS. This meant I had to go back to a button release. I bought a Walther PDP and had my safe queen XDS milled by my local gunsmith to take red dots. I forced myself to use them and it did take awhile to get used to the different guns as much as the new sights. Using a Holosun with the big circle/small dot combo helped ease the transition I think. There were benefits as well.
1. Having a new pistol forced me to spend a lot of time dry firing to wear in the trigger and to get used to the new grip.
2. I noticed that my trigger press improved as when I was slow dry firing I could see the red dot wander when I was side pressing.
3. I think I shoot faster in my pistol classes b/c now my eyes are only looking for 1 item to to line up and it's easy to "see through" the dot to the target. Easer than even just looking for the post on my front.
The upshot is that last week I pulled out my January 23 pistol targets and compared those to my December 2023 pistol targets and without a doubt I am shooting better at all ranges.
YMMV but I think if you give it time, you will be a better shooter with a red dot.
EDIT: Also consider looking at a green dot sight. I have a green dot on my PDP and it's a different experience. I shoot both red and green dots well, but some folks have eyes that pick up that green color dot faster than a red-colored red dot.
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Red dot
I have two pistols with RDS sights, I like the red dot, I just can't abide them on a revolver. The RDS just does not "fit" maybe on a monster X frame..? I've seen ads for at least one manufacturer. Do they make the revolver esp. for the RDS? The last part I want thinner on a revolver is the top strap. I need to take a closer look. I'm OK with a tube style or a small scope for range fun. Typically none of the gun is cut away for those.
I have two pistols with RDS sights, I like the red dot, I just can't abide them on a revolver. The RDS just does not "fit" maybe on a monster X frame..? I've seen ads for at least one manufacturer. Do they make the revolver esp. for the RDS? The last part I want thinner on a revolver is the top strap. I need to take a closer look. I'm OK with a tube style or a small scope for range fun. Typically none of the gun is cut away for those.
zincwarrior
New member
Reset - Pull the pistol back to your chest and then push it out again. That usually does the trick.
Again, the real secret is to practice getting the sight picture for a few days straight.